Twenty-seven books for 10 year olds, sorted by kind: adventure and funny, mystery, fantasy, graphic novels, series to get hooked on, classics to read together, and true stories. The last two groups are picks for boys and for girls, because parents ask for those lists. Any kid can read any book on this page.
In this deck · 9 sections
Adventure and funny
Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo
Opal is ten and new in a small Florida town. She finds a big, ugly, grinning stray dog causing chaos in the Winn-Dixie grocery store and tells everyone he is hers. Because of the dog, she makes friends with the town's most unlikely people.
Why read it: It is a short, warm book about being lonely and finding your people, and the dog makes it funny on every page.
Fun fact: Kate DiCamillo wrote it during a terrible Minnesota winter. She missed Florida, and her apartment did not allow dogs, so she made one up.
Opal collects friends that other people ignore. Why do you think she sees what others miss?
Then ask: Who is someone people ignore that you think is interesting?
Opal asks her father for ten things about her mother. What would ten things about you be?
Then ask: Which of them would surprise people?
Ten is when many kids pick up their first long fantasy series or their first book that makes them think about how they treat people. This list has both, plus graphic novels for days when a thick book is too much. Most books also come with a fun fact about the author or how the book began. Read it to your kid before they start.
Under each book there are two questions to ask once your kid has read it. These ask about one thing in the story, so there is something to answer besides "it was good." For a slightly younger reader, see books for 9 year olds.
Did they really read it? Thonko talks with your kid about the parts a quick summary skips: the choices, the turns, the why.
The One and Only Ivan
Katherine Applegate
Winner of the Newbery Medal. Ivan is a gorilla who has lived in a cage at a shopping mall for years, watching TV and painting pictures. When a baby elephant arrives, he makes a promise to her friend that changes everything.
Why read it: It is told by Ivan in short, simple chapters, and it gets kids thinking about animals in a way they will not forget.
Fun fact: Ivan was a real gorilla. He lived alone in a cage at a shopping center in Tacoma, Washington, for 27 years, then moved to Zoo Atlanta and lived with other gorillas.
Ivan does not mind his cage at first. What changes his mind?
Then ask: Can you get used to something that is wrong?
Is Mack, the mall owner, a bad person?
Then ask: What would he say if he told the story?
The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster
Milo is bored with everything. One afternoon a tollbooth appears in his room, and he drives his toy car through it into a land where words and numbers are at war, a watchdog has a clock in his body, and two princesses named Rhyme and Reason have been locked away.
Why read it: It is full of jokes about words and ideas, and a kid who reads it will catch new jokes every year they grow.
Fun fact: Norton Juster was supposed to be writing a book about cities. He wrote this instead, and his roommate, the cartoonist Jules Feiffer, drew the pictures.
Milo was bored before the tollbooth. Is boredom the world's fault or yours?
Then ask: What do you do when you are bored?
Which is more important, words or numbers?
Then ask: Why does the book say you need both?
Mystery
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Chris Grabenstein
Kyle loves games. He wins a spot at an overnight lock-in at the town's new library, built by the world's most famous game maker. In the morning the doors stay locked, and the only way out is to solve the library's puzzles.
Why read it: It is a puzzle book and a story at once, and kids try to solve the clues before the characters do.
Fun fact: Chris Grabenstein used to perform improv comedy in New York, and then spent years writing TV and radio commercials before he wrote books.
Some players cheat to win. Did it pay off?
Then ask: Is it still a win if you cheated?
If you could design one room in Mr. Lemoncello's library, what would be in it?
Then ask: What puzzle would people have to solve to leave?
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
E. L. Konigsburg
Winner of the Newbery Medal. Claudia runs away from home and takes her little brother Jamie, because he has money. They hide and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, bathe in the fountain, and try to solve the mystery of a statue that might be by Michelangelo.
Why read it: Living secretly in a museum is every kid's daydream, and the mystery makes them want to visit one.
Fun fact: The year this book won the Newbery Medal, another book by Konigsburg won a Newbery Honor. No other author has won both in the same year.
Claudia runs away because nobody appreciates her. Did she find what she was looking for?
Then ask: What would make you feel appreciated at home?
Why did Claudia bring Jamie and not a friend?
Then ask: Who would you bring, and why them?
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Trenton Lee Stewart
A newspaper ad asks: "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" Four kids pass a series of strange tests and are sent undercover into a school where a man is sending secret messages into people's minds.
Why read it: It is full of riddles and tests that readers can try themselves, and the four kids win by being clever in four different ways.
Fun fact: It became a Disney+ TV series in 2021.
Each of the four kids is smart in a different way. Which way are you smart?
Then ask: Which of their kinds of smart would you want?
The villain says he is making people happier. Is he?
Then ask: Is it okay to control people if it makes them happy?
Fantasy
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J. K. Rowling
Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs until a letter tells him he is a wizard. At Hogwarts he makes his first real friends and finds out who he is and what happened to his parents.
Why read it: It is the book that turned millions of kids into readers, and the first one is short enough to start a long series without fear.
Fun fact: J. K. Rowling got the idea for Harry while stuck for hours on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990.
Which house would the Sorting Hat put you in, and would you agree?
Then ask: Can you choose who you are, or is it decided for you?
The Dursleys treat Harry badly. Why do you think they are like that?
Then ask: Does knowing why make it any better?
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis
Four brothers and sisters step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land where it is always winter and never Christmas. A White Witch rules it, and a great lion named Aslan is coming back.
Why read it: It is a classic adventure that kids can read alone at ten, and the wardrobe idea stays with them for life.
Fun fact: The whole book started with one picture C. S. Lewis had in his head since he was about sixteen: a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels through a snowy wood.
Edmund betrays his family for candy. Why does he do it?
Then ask: Was he bad, or was something else going on?
Lucy tells the truth and nobody believes her. How should the others have handled it?
Then ask: What would make you believe a wild story from a sibling?
The Land of Stories
Chris Colfer
Twins Alex and Conner fall into the book of fairy tales their grandmother gave them and land in the world inside it. Snow White, Goldilocks and Red Riding Hood are real, and the twins must collect objects from the stories to find their way home.
Why read it: Kids who grew up on fairy tales get to see what happened after the endings, and the twins are funny together.
Fun fact: Chris Colfer, who played Kurt on the TV show Glee, came up with the idea as a kid who kept asking questions about the fairy tales his mother read to him.
Which fairy tale character in the book surprised you most?
Then ask: What did you not know about them before?
Alex loves rules and Conner breaks them. Which twin is more like you?
Then ask: When is the other one more useful?
Graphic novels
Smile
Raina Telgemeier
A true story. In sixth grade Raina trips after a Girl Scout meeting and badly hurts her two front teeth. What follows is years of braces, surgery and headgear, right when middle school friendships get complicated.
Why read it: It is about being embarrassed and growing up, told honestly and with humor, and it is a comic that kids read in one sitting.
Fun fact: Everything in it really happened to Raina Telgemeier, including the fall and the fake teeth on her retainer.
Raina's friends tease her. Are they really her friends?
Then ask: How can you tell a real friend from someone you just hang out with?
What finally makes Raina feel okay about her smile?
Then ask: What helped you get over something embarrassing?
New Kid
Jerry Craft
Jordan loves drawing and wants to go to art school. His parents send him to a fancy private school instead, where he is one of the few kids of color and has to live in two different worlds at once.
Why read it: It is funny and honest about fitting in, and it shows kids what it feels like to be the new kid in a place that is not built for you.
Fun fact: New Kid was the first graphic novel ever to win the Newbery Medal, in 2020.
Jordan acts a little different at school and at home. Do you?
Then ask: Which version of you is the real one?
Some teachers mean well and still say the wrong thing. What should they do instead?
Then ask: Has a grown-up ever meant well and still made you feel bad?
Zita the Spacegirl
Ben Hatke
Zita finds a strange device and presses the button. Her best friend gets pulled into another world, and she jumps in after him. On a planet about to be destroyed, she makes friends with robots and monsters and becomes a hero by accident.
Why read it: It is a fast, bright space adventure with a brave girl at the center, and it is short enough to finish in an afternoon.
Fun fact: Zita was first invented by Ben Hatke's wife when she was in high school. He started drawing Zita comics in college, partly to impress her.
Zita pressed the button that caused all the trouble. Does that make it her job to fix it?
Then ask: When is something your fault, and when is it just bad luck?
Which of Zita's strange friends would you want on your team?
Then ask: What would you bring to the team?
Series to get hooked on
Warriors
Erin Hunter
Rusty is a house cat who joins a clan of wild cats in the forest. There are four clans, each with its own warriors, rules and rivalries, and Rusty has to prove a house cat can be one of them.
Why read it: Kids who love animals get battles, loyalty and a whole world of rules, and there are dozens of books to keep going.
Fun fact: Erin Hunter is not one person. It is a pen name shared by a team of writers who take turns writing the books.
The clan cats do not trust Rusty because he was a house cat. Is that fair?
Then ask: How does he change their minds?
The warrior code has strict rules. Which rule would you break, and why?
Then ask: What would happen to the clan if everyone broke it?
Keeper of the Lost Cities
Shannon Messenger
Sophie is twelve and can hear other people's thoughts. She finds out she is an elf and moves to the Lost Cities, a hidden world of elves with special abilities, where she learns that her past is a mystery even to her.
Why read it: It is a big fantasy series with powers, friendships and secrets, and kids who finish Harry Potter often move on to it.
Fun fact: Shannon Messenger says the idea came from her love of Legolas from The Lord of the Rings and of the X-Men. She calls the series "Lord of the Rings meets X-Men."
Sophie can read minds. Should she, if people do not know?
Then ask: What would you want to keep private from a mind reader?
Sophie always felt different before she knew she was an elf. Have you ever felt like you did not fit?
Then ask: What helped?
The 39 Clues
Rick Riordan and others
Amy and Dan Cahill's grandmother leaves them a choice in her will: a million dollars, or the first of 39 clues to a family secret. They choose the clues and race around the world against their own relatives.
Why read it: It is a treasure hunt across real places and history, and every book ends with a reason to grab the next.
Fun fact: Each book was written by a different author. Rick Riordan, who wrote Percy Jackson, wrote the first one and planned the whole series.
Would you take the million dollars or the clue?
Then ask: What would you do with the money?
Amy and Dan fight a lot but stick together. What makes them a good team?
Then ask: Who would be on your team?
Classics to read together
Matilda
Roald Dahl
Matilda is a genius who reads every book in the library by age five. Her parents think she is a nuisance, and her headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, throws children by their pigtails. Then Matilda discovers she has a power of her own.
Why read it: It is a book about a kid who loves books, and seeing her outsmart the grown-ups is deeply satisfying.
Fun fact: In Roald Dahl's first draft, Matilda was a wicked girl who played tricks on her innocent parents. He rewrote the whole book and made her the hero.
Matilda punishes her parents with tricks. Did they deserve it?
Then ask: Is it okay to get back at a grown-up who treats you badly?
Miss Honey sees something special in Matilda. What makes a great teacher?
Then ask: Have you had a teacher like Miss Honey?
The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Mary is a spoiled, unhappy orphan sent to live in her uncle's gloomy house in England. She finds the key to a garden that has been locked for ten years, and a robin shows her the way in.
Why read it: It shows a sour kid slowly turning into a happy one by caring for something, and it makes readers want to dig in a garden.
Fun fact: Frances Hodgson Burnett once rented an English house with an old walled garden. She tamed a robin there, and it became the robin in the book.
Mary is rude and unhappy at the start. What changes her?
Then ask: What would help someone you know who is unhappy?
Why does keeping the garden a secret matter so much to Mary?
Then ask: Do you have a place that feels like yours alone?
True stories
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Young Readers' Edition
William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
During a famine in Malawi, William has to drop out of school because his family cannot pay. He teaches himself from library books and builds a windmill out of scrap metal and bicycle parts to bring electricity to his home.
Why read it: It is a true story of a kid solving a huge problem with a library and junk, and it makes readers want to build something.
Fun fact: William learned how windmills work from a book with a picture of a wind turbine that he found in a small village library.
People laughed at William while he built the windmill. What kept him going?
Then ask: What would you build if you had a pile of junk?
William could not go to school, but he kept learning. What is the difference between school and learning?
Then ask: What have you taught yourself?
Books 10-year-old boys love
Wonder
R. J. Palacio
Auggie was born with a face that makes people stare. He has always been homeschooled, and now he is starting fifth grade at a real school. The story is told by Auggie and by the people around him. Made into a movie in 2017.
Why read it: It makes kids think about how they treat people, and seeing the same events from different kids' eyes is eye-opening.
Fun fact: R. J. Palacio got the idea when her young son cried after seeing a girl with a face like Auggie's at an ice cream shop, and she hurried him away. She regretted it, and she started writing Wonder that same night.
Mr. Browne's first rule is: "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind." Is that always the right choice?
Then ask: Can you think of a time when being right mattered more?
Jack says something cruel about Auggie when he thinks Auggie cannot hear. Can you forgive him?
Then ask: What would Jack have to do to make it right?
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts
Rafe hates middle school, so he makes a plan: break every single rule in the school's code of conduct. The book is full of his drawings, and it has a surprise near the end.
Why read it: It is fast and funny, with cartoons on most pages, and it gets kids who do not like long books to finish one.
Fun fact: James Patterson started writing books for kids because his own son did not love reading at first.
Rafe breaks rules to feel in control. Does it work?
Then ask: What would actually help him?
Which school rule would you most like to break, and why?
Then ask: Why do you think that rule exists?
Fortunately, the Milk
Neil Gaiman
Dad goes out to buy milk for breakfast and takes a very long time. When he finally comes back, he explains: aliens, pirates, a time-traveling dinosaur in a hot air balloon. His kids are not sure they believe him.
Why read it: It is a wild, silly story that takes an hour to read, and it is perfect for reading aloud together.
Fun fact: Neil Gaiman wrote it because his earlier book was about a kid who swaps his dad for two goldfish. He wanted to write one where the dad gets to be the hero.
Do you believe Dad's story? What is your evidence?
Then ask: What would make you believe a story like that?
If you were late coming home, what excuse would you invent?
Then ask: How would you make it believable?
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson has never read a whole book, and he is proud of it. He has a long list of tricks for avoiding reading. Then a school assignment comes along that might ruin his perfect record.
Why read it: Kids who say they hate reading love this book, which is the joke, and it is genuinely funny.
Fun fact: Tommy Greenwald named the character after his three sons, Charlie, Joe and Jack, who did not like reading. He wrote a book about not reading to get them to read.
Which of Charlie Joe's tricks for not reading is the cleverest?
Then ask: Is it more work than just reading the book?
Why do some kids not like reading?
Then ask: What kind of book would change their mind?
Books 10-year-old girls love
Dork Diaries
Rachel Renée Russell
Nikki is the new girl at a fancy private school and writes everything in her diary, with doodles on every page. The most popular girl, MacKenzie, makes her life hard, and Nikki tries to keep up.
Why read it: The diary and doodles make it fast and funny, and kids recognize the middle school drama.
Fun fact: Rachel Renée Russell was a lawyer for more than twenty years before she became a full-time writer.
Why does MacKenzie pick on Nikki?
Then ask: What would you do if someone picked on you like that?
Nikki writes everything in her diary. Would you want anyone to read yours?
Then ask: What would you never write down?
Front Desk
Kelly Yang
Mia is ten. Her family came to America from China, and now they run a motel for a mean owner. Mia works the front desk while her parents clean rooms, and she secretly helps immigrants and guests in trouble. She wants to be a writer, even though her English is not perfect yet.
Why read it: Mia is brave and funny, and the book shows kids what life is like for a family starting over.
Fun fact: Kelly Yang really did this. From age eight to twelve, she worked the front desk of the motels her parents managed in California.
Mia's mom thinks she should stick to math, not writing. Who is right?
Then ask: Should a kid follow what they love or what they are told is useful?
Mia helps people even when it gets her in trouble. Was it worth it?
Then ask: When is it right to break a rule to help someone?
Roller Girl
Victoria Jamieson
A Newbery Honor book. Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for summer derby camp. Her best friend picks dance camp instead. Astrid has to learn to skate, to fall and to make friends on her own.
Why read it: It is a comic about a tough sport and a hard friendship change, and it shows that being bad at something at first is normal.
Fun fact: Victoria Jamieson skates in a real roller derby league in Portland, Oregon, under the name Winnie the Pow.
Astrid and her best friend want different things. Is it okay to grow apart?
Then ask: How do you stay friends with someone who likes different things?
Astrid falls a lot. What keeps her going?
Then ask: What is something you kept doing even though you were bad at it at first?
Fish in a Tree
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Ally is smart, but letters swim on the page for her, and she has spent years hiding it by acting out. A new teacher, Mr. Daniels, sees what is really going on.
Why read it: It helps kids understand dyslexia and shows that being smart and being good at school are not the same thing.
Fun fact: Lynda Mullaly Hunt was in the lowest reading group all through elementary school. Mr. Daniels is based on her real sixth-grade teacher, and she calls the book a thank-you note to him.
Ally hides her problem by making trouble. Why would she do that?
Then ask: What do people hide behind?
What does Mr. Daniels do that the other teachers did not?
Then ask: What would you want a teacher to notice about you?